An UnWelcome Christmas Party
by funkyfairygirl
Summary: Harry has to go to a christmas party, but will he realise that he wants his date with Hermione to be more than just friends in time? This summary sucks, but please read and review anyway :


It was the last day of term before Christmas, and the students were getting ready to wind down and enjoy the holiday. The Great Hall was a hive of activity, though, with many of the more enthusiastic students decorating the huge trees brought in by Hagrid.

Holly and tinsel lined the corridors, and ivy was wound around the banisters on the moving staircases. Roaring fires warmed the classrooms and common rooms alike, and nobody wanted to do much work in the cosy warmth.

Even Hermione was tired of the work, and was glad she could just relax. She walked into the common room after a last lesson Ancient Runes pop quiz expecting to see her two best friends playing chess, or arguing about some manoeuvre from the Quidditch practise they'd just had. Anything but doing holiday homework.

What she didn't expect to see was Harry sitting in one of the overstuffed armchairs near the fire with his head in his hands, looking anything but relaxed.

Ron, sitting opposite Harry looking very amused, grinned up at her.

"Hey Hermione. Quiz go well?" He was obviously tired after an hour trying to keep up with Harry above the freezing Quidditch pitch, and slumped further in his seat near the fire as he glanced at Harry and chuckled.

"It was alright. There were a two questions that I think I didn't write enough for, but other than that it was ok." She fell into an armchair next to Harry, dumping her bag at her feet.

"How much did you write for these two questions?"

"A page and a page and a bit." Hermione looked a bit sheepish as Ron rolled his eyes.

"Hermione, that's as much as I'd write for the whole quiz! Stop worrying. I'm sure wotshisname, your teacher, will appreciate that, and give you the top mark." Ron sank into his chair, and grinned even wider as he looked over at Harry again, who still had his head buried in his hands.

Hermione was so tired that she couldn't be bothered to correct Ron about the Ancient Runes teacher, or point out to him that they couldn't take that into consideration as Ron didn't do Ancient Runes. She did, however, muster the energy to ask what was wrong with Harry.

Ron laughed. "Ask him." Before Hermione could, though, he answered. Two muffled words came out from under his arms, and Hermione strained to catch them.

"Notice board." He then slumped back into his chair, arms falling to his sides. Hermione pulled herself out of the armchair and walked over to the (apparently) offending item. All the weeks notices hung on the board, including one very prominently placed in the exact centre of the board.

**All Students Are To Be Rewarded For Their Hard Work This Term **

**With A Christmas Party…**

After the second line, Hermione knew why Harry was so upset. The last big party he'd been to, the Yule Ball, had been a complete disaster. Hermione walked back over to her friends, and curled up in her chair. Harry was now talking to Ron, but stopped and looked at her.

"You see? It's terrible. It's tomorrow. As a sixth year I have to go, if only to stop the younger kids going too over the top, which means I need to wear my dress robes and, Merlin save me, get a date." He looked horrified at the thought, and Hermione and Ron burst out laughing. "I don't know what you two are laughing at, you have to go as well."

"Yeah, but Hermione doesn't mind parties, and I have a date. And better dress robes." Ron looked pained as he remembered his previous dress robes, and then blissful as he thought about his date.

"I bet Luna'll look great in a long dress, Ron" Hermione teased, then turned her attention to Harry as Ron went bright red.

"What's so bad about that Harry? Your dress robes are fine, and with your… popularity you shouldn't have a problem getting a date this year." She couldn't resist a dig at him for the last time he'd needed a date, only realising too late that she was a girl.

Harry glanced at Hermione's smiling face and groaned.

"That's the point. There are so many girls that want me to ask them to the party that whichever one of them do I ask will be awed and go around telling everyone we're together, and the girls I don't pick will be giving me evil looks all evening, and picking on whoever I do choose, so I can't really pick anyone because…" Hermione cut him of with a look.

"Harry, if you're really that scared of getting a date, I'll go with you. I can take the evil looks, and if anyone starts a rumour about us I'll get Ginny to tell anyone who asks that I'm going with you to stop anyone else bothering me so I can get on with holiday homework. Ok?"

"Ginny is very good at starting and clearing up rumours." Ron supplied before leaning back into his chair to watch Harry's reaction to this very un-Hermione like suggestion.

Harry stared her, then said: "Ok. Thank you, Hermione. Umm…. There wasn't anyone you wanted to go with, was there? Only I don't want to stop you going with a proper date if there's someone who'll ask…"

Hermione laughed. "No one special, Harry don't worry."

"Good. Now, I need to go and get my dress robes out. Here's hoping no moths have got into them." he wandered off towards the boy's dormitory, looking much happier.

Ron heaved himself out of his chair, looking more awake. "Think I'll do the same. And have a shower before Seamus gets here and goes in there for an hour." He followed Harry, leaving Hermione by the fire on her own. As soon as they'd both gone she dropped her calmly smiling exterior face and sank into her chair, asking herself what she was going to do.

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She was still curled up there, staring into the fire, when Ginny came in half an hour later. She sat down next to Hermione, took one look at her frowning face and conjured up a bag of jumbo marshmallows from the kitchen. Tapping Hermione gently on the head, she showed them to her friend and pointed at the fire.

"While you stare at it some more, at least make it work for your attention. Here." Ginny handed her the open bag of marshmallows, and sat on the carpet in front of the fire, toasting three marshmallows on the end of a fork left helpfully there by the house elves.

After a minute Hermione joined her, and then Ginny knew it was only a matter of time before she was told everything. Ten minutes and half a bag of marshmallows later she was right. Hermione sighed, and sat back, waiting for the latest sweet treat to cool down enough to bite into.

"Ginny, I may have done something very stupid." Ginny looked at her very intelligent friend with one eyebrow raised, clearly not believing her. "I said I'd go to this Christmas party with Harry, as a friend, and he agreed, and now I'm not sure I did the right thing." Ginny looked at her again, this time understanding. Academically, Hermione was the cleverest witch of her age. In other areas, like her feelings for Harry, she was less than qualified to deal with them.

It had been many weeks since she had confessed her feelings for the raven-haired boy who was one of her best friends, and Ginny had understood and comforted. This time, however, Ginny decided to take the shock approach.

"Hermione, did you tell him you'd go with him to protect him from the dozens of girls who'll crowd around him tomorrow, wanting him to go with them" as Hermione nodded, Ginny smiled. "Then you care very deeply for him. In fact, I'd say you love him." Hermione looked at Ginny in horror, then looked away, into the fire. Ginny sat there, knowing she'd talk soon.

"Ginny, I think… I think you're right. I just didn't realise it until now. Oh Merlin, why now!"

"Simple." Ginny proceeded to explain to Hermione that her feelings meant she didn't want to see Harry at the party with another girl, but neither did she want to see him miserable and alone in the common room. At the end of their conversation, at least as far as an exhausted Hermione was concerned, the girls split up; Hermione going up to bed and Ginny supposedly find Lavender.

Once Hermione was safely out of the way though, Ginny went up to the boy's dormitory and knocked quietly. A sleepy Dean opened the door, prodding Ron when Ginny asked for her brother.

They went down to the darkened common room, where Ginny proceeded to grill Ron about his conversation with Harry earlier….

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Start Flashback

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Harry sat on his bed, and groaned. Ron sat on his bed, opposite his friend, and made a good guess about what was bothering Harry now.

"Why are you so nervous about taking Hermione to this party thing…. Oh. You were going to ask her anyway, weren't you?" Sometimes Ron could be fairly clever.

"Yes. Oh Merlin, what am I going to do now? I was going to tell her how I feel, but if she wants to go as friend, then I don't have a chance." He looked imploringly at his red-haired friend, clearly pleading for a simple way to get out of the arrangement.

Ron shook his head. "Are you so sure she doesn't feel the same? She looked pretty happy about the deal to me. And before you say it, she's already done her holiday homework, so that isn't it." Harry shut his mouth, then flopped backwards onto his bed.

"I suppose so. But even if that is true, how can I tell her I love her if…" he sat up as the revelation hit him. "Oh Merlin, I do love her."

"Well that does complicate things a bit." Ron ducked as a pillow came sailing past him, hitting Neville instead. "I'm just saying, if it was only a crush then there's a chance you'd grow out of it." He explained, removing the pillow from Neville's face before he suffocated and replaced it on Harry's bed. Harry grunted, then rolled off the bed and walked into the bathroom.

"I'm going to have a shower while I think about it." Harry shut the door, and the sound of water running was heard.

"Damn!" Ron swore as he missed his opportunity.

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End Flashback

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Once Ginny and Ron had pooled information, and had determined that Harry and Hermione felt the same way about each other, they came up with a plan. It would, however, involve Ginny calling in a favour from a Slytherin.

The next morning, Ginny whisked Hermione off to Hogsmead to get her a dress for the party that evening. Ginny moaned that it was such short notice, but still managed to find her friend a dozen different outfits. All were rejected though, and after two hours looking on every rack in every clothes shop, Hermione was tired and bored, and Ginny a little disheartened.

Then, in a small shop near the Three Broomsticks, Ginny let out a cry of delight. She darted in, pulling Hermione after her. She circled the shop, looking for the dress she'd seen in the window. Upon finding it she pushed it into Hermione's unresisting hands, still in the cover, and led her to the till.

"Don't I need to try it on before I buy it?"

"Nope. This will fit like a glove. Trust me." And when it came to clothes, you could trust Ginny.

Back at the castle, after lunch and another hour searching for matching shoes and buying potions to tame Hermione's bushy hair the girls stumbled into the common room, dumping their bags in their dorm before collapsing into armchairs. Harry and Ron, already there, looked at them.

"You look like you've run ten laps of the school grounds each." Ron wasn't very tactful. Ginny glared at her brother, then wearily said:

"We've been looking for an outfit for Hermione in Hogsmead. It took us two and a half hours to find the perfect one."

Harry was listening intently, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by Ron or Ginny. Hermione, however, had seized his History of Magic Essay, and was reading it with a look of mounting disgust.

"Harry, this is all wrong. It starts off ok, but then you start talking about the use of talismans to ward off evil in the seventeenth century, instead of the impact of covens on everyday life in the fourteenth century…" she trailed off as she realised her friends were all looking at her, and grinned.

"I've been in and out of shops all morning. I need something to get me back to normal." At that they all laughed, with Ginny reminding her a minute later that they needed to go and start work on her hair. Groaning, Hermione waved goodbye to the boys, who were looking bemusedly at their watches, each wondering what they were going to do to Hermione's hair that would take three hours.

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Up in the girl's dorm, Hermione wondered the same thing. Ginny sat her down in front of a mirror, conjured up a sheet to catch any drops and proceeded to attack Hermione's hair with a de-tangling potion, combing it through with a very wide toothed comb.

An hour later, after that potion had been washed out and two more added, then Hermione's hair washed with her normal shampoo, her hair was smooth, with a little curl in it, nothing like the bush she had before. Another hour was spent on nails and make up experiments, with all the sixth year Gryffindor girls joining in and sharing make up.

Predictably, the hottest gossip was Hermione's date with Harry, something they wouldn't stop talking about until Ginny told them it was just a rumour – Harry hadn't had time to get a proper date, so Hermione was going with him to save him from embarrassment. Coming from Ginny, all the girls believed her, and the next fifteen minutes passed in ease.

When it was time to put her dress on, Hermione was very nervous. After all, she hadn't actually seen her dress, Ginny had just told her to buy it and that was it. To make it worse, Ginny blindfolded her, slipping the dress on over her underwear herself in the privacy of the bathroom. Well, if Hermione hadn't seen it yet, she wasn't about to let everyone else see it before her.

Opening her eyes and looking into the full-length mirror in the girl's dorm bathroom, Hermione gasped. The girl looking back was her and yet… she wasn't.

The hair was similar to the style she had at the Yule Ball, with small crystals dotted in the up do, matching her stud earrings and necklace. The dress itself was form fitting, in a shimmering shade of claret, a much richer shade than plain red, as Ginny pointed out. It fell nearly to the floor, with just the tips of her shoes peeping out from under it.

Sleeveless, and edged with silver embroidery, it was gorgeous, and Hermione knew it. The shoes matched perfectly (as they should, seeing as Ginny picked them) and her posture was very good considering she carried a bag stuffed with books the size of Hogwarts: A History around all day.

"I wish I could wear that colour." Ginny sighed wistfully, looking down at her moss green outfit. "And that style." Hermione blushed. Ginny's dress had straps holding it up, whereas Hermione's was secure without.

"That's only because I have a chest. You look beautiful, Ginny." They took one last look in the mirror, then stepped out into the dorm. As one, the other occupants squealed at the sight of Hermione in her dress, and circled her, looking at the dress, the hair and Hermione from every angle. When they were satisfied, they all complemented her many, many times, Hermione reciprocating of course, then proceeded to the Great Hall, where their dates would be waiting.

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Harry stood nervously waiting for Hermione at the base of the stairs, picking at his dress robes. Ron poked him, and seeing the look on his face he turned to look at the stairs. Luna was there, ethereal in a pale peach dress that matched her hair. She came down to Ron, and threaded her arm through his. She leaned towards Harry and whispered:

"Ginny's next, then Hermione. Keep an eye out." She smiled dreamily, then walked off a way with a very pleased looking Ron.

Harry looked up again, seeing Ginny halfway down on her way to meet Dean. She smiled at him, then nodded her head towards the top of the stairs. Harry was getting annoyed. He was hardly likely to forget where Hermione was going to come from, was he; she was after all his date. All mental thought processes stopped, however, when she stepped into view.

The light from the hundreds of candles in the hall made her dress glow subtly, and gave her hair a golden quality. The dress fitted her womanly figure like a glove, as Ginny had promised, and Harry certainly noticed. He moved forward as she seemed to float down to him, finally getting some words out as she placed her arm on his, the contact making him shiver.

"Did you make all this effort for me?" he could have kicked himself. _Well done, now you seem ungrateful!_

Hermione smiled, and said yes, did he like the dress?

The look Harry gave her must have been enough, because she blushed and looked away. A few dances later they sat down, both secretly relived that there had been no slow dances or awkward moments, each still believing the other didn't reciprocate the strong feelings they each had.

Sitting at a table with Ron, Luna, Dean and Ginny, he was so absorbed in Hermione that he didn't see the look Ginny gave her, or when she signalled to Blaise Zabini – the aforementioned favour she was calling in.

Blaise stopped by their table, and smoothly asked Hermione to dance. After shooting a look at Ginny, she agreed when Ginny nodded and smiled. Harry glared at Blaise, then turned to the table.

"Harry? What's wrong?" Luna asked dreamily. Ginny looked at her admiringly. Luna knew all about the plan, but she kept that far away look wonderfully. She was a great actress.

"Nothing." He looked over at Hermione, clearly enjoying her dance with Blaise. He stood up and walked out into the entrance hall, stopping by the small open door to get some air. He turned at a feather light touch on his shoulder, and saw a breathless Hermione.

"Harry? Anything wrong?" she was concerned

"Nope. Enjoy your dance?" he asked sarcastically. Hermione caught on immediately.

"It was ok. Blaise is a bit of a show off though, it was actually too fast for me." She didn't miss the half smile on Harry's face, that Blaise wasn't that good a dancer, or the lessening of tension in his shoulders. She stepped in front of him, reaching up and turning his face to meet hers.

"Harry, I don't like Blaise, if that's what you're worried about. It was just a dance."

Harry was silent for a minute, savouring the feel of her skin on his, then asked a question he'd been dying to ask since she'd said she would come to the party with him.

"Hermione, why did you say you'd come with me?" He waited with baited breath as she let her hands fall and thought about her answer.

"If you mean did I ask out of pity, then no. If you mean did I ask out of feelings for you, then yes." She looked at him as he thought about that, then squeaked in surprise as he kissed her on the lips.

Breaking away, they looked at each other, then smiled.

"We've been idiots, haven't we?" murmured Harry, touching his forehead to Hermione's. "Not seeing what was in front of us all this time, I mean."

"Yes you have." The new voice made them turn, and they saw Ron, Luna, Ginny and Dean watching them, all smiling. The six of them went back into the Great Hall to continue the party, but not before Harry and Hermione told each other something the should have told each other a long time ago.

"I love you."

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Please review this and any other of my stories you may read, but especially this.

If it sucks, that's because it was four am when I wrote it, and I was tired out, but had to get it written down.

Claire

xxxx


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